The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

When Lind heard the intelligence reports from Lucanus's men in the capital, he couldn't help but facepalm.

The last time I felt like the world had gone mad was when I heard that Isa had rebelled.

"So a large number of low-level professionals have turned to gray-collar jobs because of bankruptcy, right?"

“My king, there are not many of them, only a few dozen in total, but that should be enough to build a mage tower.”

Lucanus bent down and handed over the latest intelligence.

"No, this number is already outrageous. If even low-level professionals are affected, then ordinary people will probably have an even harder time surviving."

Lin De lowered his head and fell into deep thought as he looked at the intelligence report.

The demons were causing chaos in the capital by promoting usury and creating a great deal of talent and labor for Linde.

But to be honest, Lind wasn't happy.

Only a minority of those working in the gray-collar area are actually involved. According to intelligence from the capital, loan sharking is just one of the more covert methods used by the demons. These demons are hoarding large quantities of food and medicine, but the nobles of the capital have chosen to turn a blind eye, since most nobles would do the same.

However, the two groups are fundamentally different. The nobles are accustomed to exploiting their own territories, while the demons monopolize the market for food and medicine.

This has led to prices in the capital city rising higher and higher. Although there is no sign of a collapse yet, the nobles and royalty of the capital city seem completely unaware of it.

This also reflects the difference in intelligence systems between the two sides. Linde focuses more on intelligence related to people's livelihoods and the economy, which is precisely what the officials in the capital care about the least.

"Moreover, according to the intelligence reports, the strange illness that appeared in the capital is very similar to a plague that we contracted back then, coughing up blood, skin ulceration, and suppuration. However, the symptoms that appeared in the capital are all chronic."

Flora's voice was somewhat hoarse, and although her tone was calm, it could not hide the anger in her voice.

Are there any cases of this disease appearing in our territory now? Can it be cured?

Linde frowned, basically assuming that these strange symptoms were spread by the demons in the capital.

“Isa has already contacted churches in various places. If similar symptoms appear, they will be reported immediately. If holy water is available, prevention or cure will not be difficult.”

Then, Flora added, "Since there is no widespread infection in the capital, and only a small number of people are showing symptoms, it means that the infectivity is not strong. I guess the demons won't dare to be too blatant."

Hearing this, Lin De's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

"We still need to take precautions. If any of the people who come to our territory are infected with these strange symptoms, we should treat them first."

After everyone finished reporting their work and left, Lin De pulled out the intelligence reports that had been sent back from the capital and began to review them himself.

"Brother... Lind, what happened?"

Unable to continue being brothers, Lena had just returned from the military camp when she saw Linde with a serious expression. Linde's research on magic focusing arrays and magic transmission had been progressing smoothly lately, and it was rare to see him with such a serious expression.

"The new king in the capital seems to be under a lot of pressure."

When Linde saw that Lena had returned, he was just about to have a chat with someone and sort out his thoughts.

After telling Lena about what was happening in the capital, Lind continued:

"Augustine III distributed too much power to suppress the North, but he died too suddenly, and the newly enthroned king seems not to have had time to reclaim those powers."

"Moreover, in order to advance the reforms, Cran Augustine had to constantly negotiate and compromise with those nobles, which led to the weakening of the royal power. Even some ordinary nobles dared to criticize the new king's policies in the streets."

Lena didn't understand the subsequent analysis and simply asked, "Isn't this a good thing?"

"This is a good thing, but the demons are also our enemies."

"If Crane Augustine doesn't control these demons soon, does he know how long it will take for the kingdom's economy to collapse and how many people will go hungry because of it?"

Lind slammed his fist on the table in anger.

"Should we help the capital?"

Lena's words brought Lindall back to reality.

"No, we've barely had enough to eat ourselves, why should we help our enemy?"

After venting his anger, Linde calmed down. Crane Augustine wasn't a fool; otherwise, he wouldn't have specifically restricted the demons' movements within the kingdom's borders. At least he knew to keep the demons away from the western and southern borders.

But this also shows that the other side is probably no longer able to control the nobles under its command. Linde can tear everything down and start over, establishing a new order with absolute violence, but Crane cannot.

"So, Linde, you've already figured out what to do, haven't you?"

Linde paused for a moment, then nodded: "Cran Augustine is not stupid. With just a little reminder, he will know what to do. If the economy really collapses, it will also affect us. A half-dead capital is in our best interest right now."

Whenever Lind got a little impatient, talking to Lena would always calm him down, and this time was no exception. After chatting with Lena about the situation in the army, Lind took out some stationery and planned to write a letter to Crane Augustine in the name of the Governor of the North.

The letter was rather "frank," directly stating what Lucanus had investigated in the capital. After all, this was just information about prices and market conditions in the capital, which couldn't really be considered intelligence.

Only when such glaring numbers are placed in Cran Augustine's face can he truly understand the current situation, instead of speculating about what Lind might be plotting behind his back.

But Linde still felt uneasy. When he saw the intelligence report that Cran Augustine had asked his fiancée, a saint who was suspected to be a time traveler, to help with the reforms, he thought about it and decided to write a letter to the time traveler on the other side as well.

Lind had no interest in exchanging secret codes with the other party, lest it cause a misunderstanding with Crane Augustine and prevent the letter from reaching him.

In the letter he wrote to Lilith, the time traveler, Lind listed the situation in the capital in more detail. If the other party was from the same country as him and had received nine years of compulsory education, then she should know what to do now.

Not long after, in the capital, Crane Augustine, upon receiving Lind's letter, gave a wry smile. How could he not know the situation in the capital? But it was a fact that the king's power had shrunk. He had recently heard that the Eastern Territory had allied with Doug Lars. If it weren't for the extreme loyalty of the Southwest Territory, Crane would be in a very difficult position.

However, some of the suggestions in the letter are indeed worth considering; at the very least, prices in the capital city definitely need to be controlled.

Meanwhile, Lilith also received this letter from the North.

Lilith was initially curious about what profound insights the other person had, but as she read on, she realized something was off.

A familiar feeling washed over her, taking Lilith back to the days when her older brother would point fingers at her while she was doing her homework in school.

Most importantly, the suggestions in the letter were indeed very effective, which made Lilith very unhappy, but she couldn't find any reason to refute them.

Not only that, the people who wrote the letters later seemed to get carried away and even explained to Lilith how to support her confidants and suppress her political enemies.

This is clearly an attempt to incite trouble.

Lilith was somewhat speechless. She wasn't ruling as regent anymore, so what was the point of saying all this?

Although Cran also granted Lilith a lot of power, relying on Lilith and the Church to promote reforms, Lilith's main source of power was still her status as a saint of the Church.

However, some of the opinions in the letter were indeed very valuable. Lilith put the letter away and decided to first try to control the prices in the market. Some important things must be controlled by the state.